Species specific colonization abilities and biotic and abiotic filters
influence the local and regional faunal composition along colonization
trajectories. Using a recent compilation of the occurrences of 1373
darkling beetle (Tenebrionidae) species and subspecies in 49 European
countries and major islands, we reconstructed the tenebrionid
postglacial colonization of middle and northern Europe from southern
European glacial refuges and linked species composition to latitudinal
and longitudinal gradients in phylogenetic relatedness across Europe.
The majority of European islands and mainland countries appeared to be
phylogenetically clustered. We did not find significant latitudinal
trends in average phylogenetic relatedness of regional faunas along the
supposed postglacial colonization routes but detected a strong positive
correlation between mean relatedness and longitude of mainland faunas
and an opposite negative correlation for island faunas. The strength of
phylogenetic relatedness in the regional tenebrionid faunas decreased
significantly with latitude and to a lesser degree with longitude. These
findings are in accordance with two trajectories of postglacial
colonization from centres in Spain and middle Asia that caused a strong
longitudinal trend in the phylogenetic relatedness. Subsequent pair-wise
analyses of species co-occurrences showed that species of similar
distributional ranges tend to be phylogenetically clustered and species
of different spatial distribution to be phylogenetically segregated.
Both findings are in accordance with the concept of range size
heritability'. Our study demonstrates that taxonomic data are
sufficiently powerful to infer continental wide patterns in phylogenetic
relatedness that can be linked to colonization history and geographic
information.

Species specific colonization abilities and biotic and abiotic filters
influence the local and regional faunal composition along colonization
trajectories. Using a recent compilation of the occurrences of 1373
darkling beetle (Tenebrionidae) species and subspecies in 49 European
countries and major islands, we reconstructed the tenebrionid
postglacial colonization of middle and northern Europe from southern
European glacial refuges and linked species composition to latitudinal
and longitudinal gradients in phylogenetic relatedness across Europe.
The majority of European islands and mainland countries appeared to be
phylogenetically clustered. We did not find significant latitudinal
trends in average phylogenetic relatedness of regional faunas along the
supposed postglacial colonization routes but detected a strong positive
correlation between mean relatedness and longitude of mainland faunas
and an opposite negative correlation for island faunas. The strength of
phylogenetic relatedness in the regional tenebrionid faunas decreased
significantly with latitude and to a lesser degree with longitude. These
findings are in accordance with two trajectories of postglacial
colonization from centres in Spain and middle Asia that caused a strong
longitudinal trend in the phylogenetic relatedness. Subsequent pair-wise
analyses of species co-occurrences showed that species of similar
distributional ranges tend to be phylogenetically clustered and species
of different spatial distribution to be phylogenetically segregated.
Both findings are in accordance with the concept of range size
heritability'. Our study demonstrates that taxonomic data are
sufficiently powerful to infer continental wide patterns in phylogenetic
relatedness that can be linked to colonization history and geographic
information.